Atomic Liquors (and a Vegas Quickie) with Sam Merritt!

UPDATE: Check out Jen Reviews: 100 Best Things to do in Vegas - it's a go-to for LV coolness. And yes, this article is included!

Jimmy and the one and only Sam Merritt.

Jimmy here, reporting from the desert:

One of the things we love about being Happy Hour Guys; now that we've been doing this for a while (I mean, we shot the pilot in 2006!), we often get a chance to reconnect with old friends. And last week offered a chance to catch up with one of our best and brightest from here out East, Sam Merritt. I got a last-minute gig in Las Vegas doing an Industrial, and while I was excited to see the Las Vegas Strip again, I knew that Sam could take us to places much cooler. Sam used to be with us here in the East Coast, where he has done everything from being a beer rep for Brooklyn Brewery to running his own Cicerone Beer Certification program called the Civilization of Beer. (Civ of Beer is a terrific course, by the way - we've taken it.) A couple years ago Sam decamped to points further West, and now serves as one of the Beer Education mavens for Southern Wine and Spirits of Nevada.

A draft list at Aces & Ales (Tenaya Way).

We met up with Sam at Aces & Ales, on Tenaya Way quite a ways north and west of the Strip. Aces is easily one of Nevada's best craft beer bars, and would land in the top ten list of any high-end craft beer enthusiast worth his or her salt... anywhere. I have to say when I walked in and looked at the draft list, I wanted to genuflect, kiss the ground and weep happy tears. There were beers that rarely, if ever, get off the West coast, and if they do, out East we almost never see them on draft.  Not only that, but the bartenders are happy to do a six glass tasting flight of these ridiculous liquids - for $16. Sixteen bucks to taste beers that would be hard to find even if you went to the individual breweries and begged the men and women responsible for making them to pour! Also, speaking to the badassery of the bartenders, when they have 40+ beers on tap, doing flights is a tall order - and our guy (Assistant GM Matt Alexander) handled us with aplomb. So I was able to taste six astonishing beers within minutes of walking to the door. And in keeping with their name, Aces is has gaming (including video slot machines) on site, so you can possibly make back the money to pay for your order. Riiiiiight... remember folks, the House always wins! It was pretty amazing; Aces & Ales has it going on.

Old school and proud of it.

The bar at Atomic.

Next up was Atomic Liquors, in the Fremont District of Las Vegas, which is actually what we like to call 'Old' Vegas. This is the part of Las Vegas that existed before the Strip, where the old school casinos are, and all the neon (including the terrific Neon Museum), - the whole area is kitschy, throwback fun. And Atomic Liquors did not disappoint. Atomic is the oldest free-standing bar in the entire city, and also boasts the first package liquor license in the history of the State of Nevada, gotten in 1952. The story is that back in the day, people (including the Rat Pack) used to gather and head up to the rooftop of Atomic with their lawn chairs, to watch the nuclear test explosions that were occurring miles down the road in the Nevada desert. Joe and Stella Sobchik, the owners at the time, thought it might be a good idea to get a liquor license and serve drinks while folks were watching the tests. They were also responsible for constructing the beautiful wraparound bar downstairs. Today, Atomic boasts an incredible craft cocktail program as well as a terrific lineup of spirits and craft beer; and the atmosphere is second to none, right down to the poster for "Miss Atomic Bomb" - which was actually a thing. Nuclear bombs and Showgirls, anyone? Atomic Liquors– you really shouldn't miss it.

Her bathing suit is a mushroom cloud. Seriously?

At that point, our evening with Sam was cut short, because I had to get down to the Strip to Showstoppers at the Wynn Casino (Kerry O'Malley singing Sally Bowles and Mama Rose, I mean COME ON) - also I may have ended up getting hammered at the Blackjack table later, but all in all, for a short visit, it was a very productive one. And we have Sam to thank for it.

Our advice: The next time you visit Vegas, definitely check out the big casinos on the strip, but get off the strip as soon as you can. Go see the Old Vegas, and find the nooks and crannies. And check back here before you go - you never know what we'll have for you.

And, we'll see you next time. Cheers!

Pappy Van Winkle is amazing...and everything that's wrong with the booze industry.

Jimmy had a shot of Pappy Van Winkle the other night. He was at a bar with some friends, one of which was having an auspicious birthday, and wanted to celebrate. The bartender whispered some magic words: "We have Pappy 20, and 23. Off menu." So Jimmy ordered a shot of the 20, neat. It arrived, everyone tasted, and all praised what was a lovely, lovely brown spirit.

Then, the bill came. $150. For a single 1 and 1/2 ounce of liquid.

Let's put that sticker shock in perspective: Given that there are about 16ish shots in a 750 ml bottle, that means that this bar will make around $2400 for that brown liquid. Not a bad profit, even considering that this bottle likely cost them (because it was off-menu and likely purchased retail, from a profiteer - they wouldn't tell us exactly where) around $1000. (EDIT: A reader, Jim, correctly states that 99% of the time restaurants and bars pay wholesale for Pappy, if they have the chance to purchase. And AN ENTIRE BOTTLE of Pappy 23 retails in some markets for $149!!)

Now, we get it - we live in a free country with a Capitalist system: There are lots of popular drinks out there, astonishingly well crafted, and the producers of these drinks, if they are lucky enough for it to achieve the cult status that Pappy has, can charge "whatever the traffic will bear" as it were. But when there is rarity or cultishness around a 'WHITE WHALE' (as these types of drinks are called), profiteering inevitably comes into the picture. And we believe that it spoils the intent with which the drinks were made in the first place.

According to our sources, some distributors in the US are now tying whether or not a liquor store receives bottles of Pappy to quantity sales of other whiskies, some of which are exceedingly hard to move in large batches. In other words, a store must move X cases of another product to earn the right to 'get Pappy'. This leaves the smaller Mom and Pop stores at a huge disadvantage, as they simply can't move the number of bottles necessary to qualify. In the Craft Beer world, pursuit of rare releases like Cigar City's Hunahpu Stout have led to black/gray markets springing up, in which a profiteer will buy multiple bottles at the brewery, then sell them online for a steep markup.

Buy it from a retailer you trust.

We've spoken to the good folk at Cigar City; in the case of Hunahpu Stout, they just want to make great beer, and they've set what they believe to be a fair price this beer - the fact that someone who had nothing to do with making the liquid is profiting from a black market re-sale is an insult to the work that they've put in to making it in the first place. 

In both cases, the producers have the best and worst kind of success; their drinks have become astonishingly popular, but a great deal of the money that is changing hands over them never makes it back to their pockets, where it belongs.

Our advice? Stay away from profiteers. The point of having these amazing beverages is to experience them the way the producer intended - in the case of Cigar City, buy from a reputable retailer like Bruisin' Ales, or GO TO TAMPA YOURSELF - because bev-touring is awesome.

And as far as Pappy goes, we agree that it's wonderful, amazing, astonishing; but there are many, many other fantastic, aged bourbons out there that won't deliver such a blow to your wallet. Want to be super cool? Find the next one that less people know about. The Elijah Craig 23, for instance.

What about you? What are your feelings about Bev Sticker Shock, and Profiteering? Leave us a comment below.

And we'll see you next time!

De Garde Brewing: Sweet and Sour in Coastal Cow Country

Having just opened to the public in 2013, de Garde Brewing in Tillamook, Oregon is making waves in the big beer ocean of the Pacific Northwest.  They were heralded by Beer Advocate as the best new Oregon brewery in early 2014.  And considering their spontaneous fermentation, barrel aging, and unique plan of attack right out of the gate, we can see why.

De Garde Brewing in Tillamook, Oregon.

Squigs here.  On Christmas Day, I was reading an article about the top-rated beers in each state.  Although the chosen stats seemed a bit arbitrary, I was intrigued to see an Oregon brewery listed that I hadn't heard of.  As a native Oregonian (now living in NY), even I can't keep track of what's new and exciting in Oregon brewing. I was already planning a trip to the Oregon coast, and a visit was a great possibility.

Sampling the wares: Rojo Dos, Bu, Imperial Peach Bu, Berry Bu.

Trevor Rogers and Linsey Hamacher wanted to make spontaneously fermented wild ales so they had to seek out a place where the air was alive with happy strains of bacteria and yeast.  They found it in the fertile dairy land already home to renowned cheesemongers including the Tillamook Cheese Factory.  Add to this the coastal breezes wafting over the Coastal Mountain Range and you've got a diverse array of critters ready to party down in the de Garde coolship and barrels.  And with assistant brewer Will (formerly of Pelican Brewing) and taproom maven Sierra, they assembled a great – albeit VERY busy – team.

The menu board.

As an example of their wares, on my visit I sampled a selection of their Bu Weisse (a take on a Berliner Weisse, named with a Moroccan Berber possessive word meaning "my" or "mine" that Linsey picked up in the Peace Corps).  The base Bu and a couple brewed with local fruit: Berry Bu (with blackberries, boysenberries, and blueberries) and the Imperial Peach Bu.  Rounded out the tasting with the Rojo Dos (sour red).  All were incredible, but I returned to a full pour of the amazing Imperial Peach.  And of course I had to take a couple bottles to go: The Lucy (a Lambic based brew with muscat grapes) and the Deux Tetes (a wild collaboration with Pippin apple juice from Portland-based cidery Reverend Nat's).

They periodically host bottle releases and other popular events (as attested by de Garde fans at 5th Street Growlers in Corvallis) and you can find some of their bottles in local markets.  I'd love to see beer and cheese pairings which would be a mind-blowing sampling of all the region has to offer.  Wow!

Keep an eye on de Garde.  And if you find yourself on the Oregon coast, don't miss a chance to drop by.  See their website for hours.  They're located at 6000 Blimp Boulevard which is named for the neighboring blimp hangar that houses the Tillamook Air Museum.  They seem to be quite a fitting neighbor for a brewery where the brews seem to be flying out of the place.